The Ties That Bind
by L.S. Wasp
Summary: Daryl wakes up to find himself in a strange place unknown how he got there. Realizing he's not free to leave,he struggles to free himself,confront his captors and find a way back to his group.Through his struggle, his loyalty ties will be put to the test. Daryl/OC/Merle
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Walking Dead, AMC or anyone/anything else. This is purely for entertainment purposes and is fiction created by me. This story does not reflect the actual series and doesn't claim to be anything but me having a bit of extra time on my hands getting the mental dialogue from my make believe stories in my head on paper (or computer that is). Any and all original characters created by me are not and do not resemble any known person(s). If you have any concerns or questions about what I've written please contact me and I will be happy to discuss anything. I'm a reasonable person.**

**Please Review!**

*****Originally what is now Chapter 2 was originally Chapter 1- I just thought it flowed better flip flopped so sorry for any confusion it may cause for people who have already started to read********

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 1**

Jade pulled on the chain with all her might. She gripped the chains so they would have little tension and sat back with her full body weight….nothing. Not even a budge. Jade was shackled to the floor by her wrists and feet and there didn't seem to be any hope in freeing herself. However, that didn't stop her from trying.

Jade was so exhausted. All she really wanted to do was sleep. She felt like she could sleep forever. Her whole body ached and her wrist and ankles started to become raw from the shackles. She had spent so much time fighting and struggling that she thought most of the scrapes and bruises on her knees she had caused herself. Her legs were dirty and bloody. Her dress had become torn and tattered. She looked down at her dress and remembered how much she loved it when she first bought it. It was her favorite dress and she would've worn it everyday if she could have. Ironically now she was wearing it every day. She felt like she had been hit by a truck and figured she looked like it too.

She gave up for the moment and lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling. _What am I doing,_ she thought. Maybe she should just give in and give them what they wanted. What was her constant fighting going to really accomplish. Her eyes began to well up with tears. She closed her eyes and a lone tear ran out of the corner of her left eye and down her cheek into her tangled hair. She took a deep breath. _Get a hold of yourself. You can do this, they will not break you,_ she thought. Jade noticed out of the corner of her eye someone had approached the door blocking the light that bled through the crack at the bottom of the door. She scooted against the wall and pretended to be asleep on her side. She pulled her arm up by her face and brushed her hair over her eyes to hide she was awake. The door creaked open.

Two men were on either side of another man who appeared unconscious. The two men dragged him into the room and over to the chair. The chair was bolted to the floor. One of the men was carrying some rope and once they positioned the unconscious man they began tying him to the chair.

"That should hold him for awhile" one of the men stated. They both laughed at one another and left the room locking the door behind them.

Jade waited a few minutes to make sure they weren't coming back. She remained on her side just staring at the man in the chair.

The man wore blue jeans with the knees worn out and a button down sleeveless shirt. He appeared to have a cut on his head that was slightly bleeding. He certainly looked like he had been worked over. _I hope you at least landed a few good punches before they got the better of you_ she thought to herself.

She tried to stay awake in case he regained consciousness but her eyes became heavy like bricks. Just when she was about to drift off to sleep she heard him groan. She watched him as he woke up straining to focus his eyes.

She slowly sat up and began to scoot forward, dragging her heavy chains along the way.


	2. Chapter 2

*****This chapter was originally Chapter 1 but I thought after reading it again that the story flowed better by flip flopping the two chapters. Sorry for any confusion this may cause anyone*******

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><p><strong>Safe Haven<strong>

**The Ties that Bind**

**Chapter 2**

Daryl awoke to a throbbing pain in his head. He felt something warm streaming down his face. He didn't know if it was sweat or blood. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see into the room. The room was darkly lit with a shade-less light just slightly swinging from the ceiling. With as bright as the light felt to his eyes, he could barely see anything in the room. He attempt to stand up but felt a tightening around his ankles and wrists. It was in that moment he realized his arms were bound behind his back and he was tied to a chair.

"What the fuck?" Daryl struggled to free himself. He heard something rattle to his right and was startled.

"Who's there? You better untie me God Damn it!" Daryl barked. He strained his eyes in attempt to see who was in the room with him. He heard the rattling again with the sound of something dragging on the floor.

In a voice just above a whisper he heard someone say "I would help you if I could…." and a woman with long dark hair leaned out of the shadows just enough into the light for Daryl to see her face "…..but you can see I'm really not any better off than you are" and with that she pushed her hands forward and revealed a large chain.

Daryl's eyes were beginning to adjust in the darkness and he was able to see a little more into the shadows of the room. Daryl followed the chain to see her hands and bare feet were both shackled and she was chained to the floor. She scooted enough into the light to reveal more of her shape. She looked petite but he guessed she was about the same age as him, maybe a little younger. Although with her chained to the floor as she was, she looked extremely fragile. Her hair hung down to her waist and appeared messy and tattered. She wore a tan colored dress that buttoned down the front and fell just at the knee with small red flowers. It was stained and torn in places. Her knees and legs were streaked with dirt and blood to match her scrapes and bruises. He thought she must've looked beautiful at one point in time but now looked frail and weak. Anger began to brew from deep inside him, not just for being trapped himself but for this woman who was being treated like a worthless animal. Daryl knew what it was like to be treated worthless. He couldn't imagine this woman had done anything to deserve this.

Daryl started to struggle in an attempt to free himself. He grunted and groaned until he heard the turning of the door knob. The woman scurried back into the shadows against the wall where he could no longer see her. He froze on guard and waited for what was on the other side of the door to enter. Daryl squinted as the light from the hallway cut into the room revealing the silhouette of a large man. He stood in the doorway, the light behind him, preventing Daryl from being able to see his face. But what Daryl did notice in the man's left hand, was that he was holding Daryl's crossbow. The anger that had previously begun to well up from deep inside him was now on the verge of boiling over.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 3**

"I like this here toy of yours, I think I may just keep it for myself." The man informed Daryl as he held up the crossbow, admiring it, closing the door behind him.

"Why don't you untie me and I will show you how it properly works" Daryl spoke as he glared at the man.

The man had long dark hair and a full beard. Daryl didn't think this man had ever seen a bar of soap in his life even before the outbreak. The stench emitting from him made even the walkers smell like roses. It took all of Daryl's strength just to keep from gagging. Without warning, the man stepped closer and struck Daryl in the face with the butt of the crossbow.

"You mean this isn't the proper way you use it?" the man chuckled.

Daryl cringed from the pain in his cheek and could feel the area immediately beginning to swell. He could see past the man that the woman was slowly rising to her feet.

"Hey stinky" the woman spoke in a calm voice "Be sure to take the flies out when you leave, you're stinking up the place"

Daryl could see how quickly the man's mocking mood turned to anger. The man rushed over to the woman, pinning her against the wall. He had his left hand around her throat and his right hand was aiming the crossbow just under her chin. The arrow was making contact with the skin. The man was applying just enough pressure to cause a break in the skin and it was slowly beginning to bleed. The woman just glared at him.

"Maybe I should do some target practice on you, I'm getting sick of your mouth anyway" the man snarled.

The woman remained quiet and didn't utter a sound. Daryl was surprised at her ability to remain emotionless. Most women he had come across would've been in tears at this point not that he would blame them. Especially considering the size and frailty of this woman, he really started to become confused as to why she wasn't in tears. The man was clearly frustrated that he couldn't induce fear into this woman. With that, he let go of her throat and punched her full force in the stomach. Daryl knew that the man could've used a fraction of the force and still have the same affect but this man definitely didn't hold back an ounce. Daryl felt like his face was on fire from the rage building up inside him and he began to struggle again to free himself. The woman fell like a rag doll to her knees then onto her stomach and gasped for air. She slowly lifted her head up. Her eyes peaked through her hair that was covering her face. She softly mustered out the words "Is that the best you've got? My grandmother can hit harder than that!"

The man drew back his foot and kicked her with such force it flipped the woman on her back. Her body folded into her side where the man made contact and she writhed around trying to draw air back into her lungs. If the first blow hadn't knocked the wind completely out of her there was no question the second one had.

"ONLY A PUSSY WOULD BEAT UP A WOMAN YOU FAT FUCK!" Daryl yelled. The man turned towards Daryl and Daryl spit at him. Before the man could respond back the door opened and a younger scrawny man stood in the doorway and spoke.

"Sheriff is coming Earl, I think, I think you better speak to him first, yeah, you should speak to him." The scrawny man seemed to tremble in fear as he spoke.

"I'm not done with you two yet, but don't worry, I will be back." He glared at Daryl and then looked at the woman on the floor. She had rolled back to her stomach and had turned her face into the floor. The man slammed the door as he exited. Daryl could hear the turning of the lock.

Daryl began to struggle as hard as he could and rocking his body in an attempt to break the back of the chair. The chair didn't budge an inch. Daryl realized it must have been bolted down. The sunlight streamed into the room from the windows near the ceiling and illuminated the room. Daryl began to frantically look around trying to see what he could use in the room as a weapon. If only he could free himself. He continued to struggle in frustration and let out a yell. He calmed down for a moment and looked back at the woman. He could see her back rise and fall confirming she was at least breathing.

"Hey…Hey…are you alright?" Daryl spoke to her. She remained silent.

"Come on….I need you to try and get up…we need to figure a way out of here." Still she remained silent.

"Fuck" Daryl whispered to himself and began his fruitless struggle again. A few minutes had passed when he heard the woman speak "There is no getting out of here….haven't you figured that out yet?" The woman slowly propped herself up to a kneeling position. She gagged and dropped her head down. If she had eaten anything she surely would've thrown up. Daryl just stared at her and waited for her to speak again. She leaned back against the wall and folded her legs to the side. She rested her head against the wall and looked up towards the ceiling. Her eyes were closed. He noticed the quiet tears streaming down her face washing away the dirt stains. She clearly wasn't as emotionless as he thought but this impressed him more that she was able to contain it not to let the man see. She raised her shackled wrists and hands to her face and buried her face in her hands. The weight of the chains hanging from her wrist rattled up against her chest. She wiped the tears away and looked into Daryl's eyes. Her eyes became cold and she just stared at him a moment before she finally spoke again.

"There's a man coming, he is in charge, everyone and I mean everyone is afraid of him. He will try to break you. Once he does, then he decides whether to keep you as one of his pets or kill you. This is why you are here. It's why we are all here." She replied.

"We all?" Daryl was confused.

"You don't think we have been the only ones do you? There have been others. We are just the only two for now and there will be others after us. He just has to find them. Even dumb and dumber out there…..he broke them too at one point and that's why they obey him. They are too afraid not to." She advised

Daryl was still confused as to what exactly was going on but it didn't really matter to him either. All that mattered was getting out and getting back to camp. He certainly would be getting back his crossbow and nailing the jackass that took it between the eyes.

"I'm not afraid of anyone. They can all go fuck themselves!" Daryl began struggling again to free himself.

The woman slightly chuckled "Oh trust me….you will be…"

Daryl heard the click of the door lock and the door opened. Daryl was not prepared for what he was about to see in the doorway. His eyes widen and his jaw dropped. He couldn't muster out a single word and just sat still in shock.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Ties That Bind **

**Chapter 4**

Surprised, Jade watched the color drain out of the face of her fellow captive. She noticed his sense of recognition of the man who opened the door. She then turned her attention to the man in the doorway. Her stomach turned as soon as she saw him. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again. Her heart rate and breathing increased. A shiver of fear ran down her spine. As strong as she was able to be with the others, she knew she wouldn't be able to hold back long with him. He was the man they all referred to as Sheriff because he was the one that laid down the law…. his own law. He could strike fear in people just by looking at them.

"Well, Well, Well…. What do we have here? Well I'll be damned if this ain't a pleasant surprise!" Sheriff uttered.

He turned his attention to Jade and squatted down beside her. Although he smiled at her, he had an evil smile. Jade's eyes were locked on him as he reached up and brushed the hair out of her face.

"Now there…..isn't that better darlin'?" Sheriff stated. If Jade didn't know better he would've almost seemed gentle. Sheriff reached around the back of her head and ran his fingers through her hair. He slowly gathered a handful and then pulled with full force causing Jade's head to jerk back. She involuntarily let out a cry. Sheriff leaned in inches to her face and stated "Are you going to tell me what I want to know today?" He then raised his voice spitting while he yelled "MY PATIENCE IS WEARING THIN GIRL…. I'M GETTING TIRED OF THESE GAMES!" Jade closed her eyes tightly and held back the tears but could feel her chin quiver.

"No! No! NO!" Sheriff's voice raised in a crescendo. "You open your eyes, when I'm talking to you, no hiding, you open your eyes and open them now or I will cut your eyelids off and you'll never be able to close them again. Are we understood?"

Jade opened her eyes and tears just poured out of them. She wheezed when she tried to take in a deep breath. The harder she fought from crying the more uncontrollable it became.

"ARE WE UNDERSTOOD? YOU ANSWER ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU….ARE WE UNDERSTOOD" Sheriff shouted still inches from her face.

Jade shook her head and finally mustered out a cracked yes from her mouth and her eyes were fixed hard on Sheriff.

"Good, now that's better" Sheriff let go of her hair and gently wiped the tears from her face. "Now that's no way to look during a celebration. We're going to have a little party here." Jade furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Don't you realize what we have here little girl? This here is a family reunion!" Sheriff stood up and turned around walking over to the man tied to the chair. He placed his hand on the man's shoulder "Isn't that right little brother?"

The man in the chair utter one word...Merle.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 5**

"Why don't one of you two morons grab me a chair, I need to have a little chat with my brother here." Merle commanded as the younger, scrawny man came rushing back into the room with the chair.

"Now both of you get the fuck out" Merle barked at his two men. He dragged the chair over and sat directly in front of Daryl. After the initial shock wore off, Daryl had felt a sense of relief when he saw his brother first enter the room, quickly followed by a huge wave of confusion and guilt. Daryl had watched in silence as Merle berated the woman.

Now Merle was in front of him, just staring.

"Hell Merle, quit dickin' around and cut me free. What the hell is going on? And what's with all this sheriff bullshit?" Daryl became frustrated Merle was just sitting staring at him.

"All in good time little brother, all in good time….. First there's something I need to hear from you." Merle leaned forward on his elbows over his knees. "I want to hear…no I **need** to hear how you took your revenge on that group of trash we were with, you know who all I'm talking about…..that group that thinks they are so much better than everyone else...and don't spare one single detail. Especially what you did to that Sheriff that handcuffed me to that rooftop. Look what he made me do Daryl". Merle held up his right arm showing his stump of where his hand would be. "Did you know that? Did they tell you that when they got back to camp that day? Did they tell you they left me there to die? They left me up there to be eaten alive handcuffed to the fucking roof?"

Daryl sat in silence. That guilt washing over him when he first saw Merle was so strong that he felt as if he was drowning in it.

"Well little brother…..I'm waiting….." Merle sat in a dead stare.

"I tried….I mean we came to get you…I would've gotten you…..it ended up not being that simple." Daryl broke away from Merle's stare looking downward.

"So let me get this straight, you came back looking for me, found my hand, and thought that was it? You just went on your merry way with those people. Those same people that left your own flesh and blood to die a cruel death. What, did you go back to camp, sit around the campfire holding hands and singing Kumbaya?"

Daryl was shaking his head no as he listened to him. "Merle…"

Merle stood up grabbing a hold of the back of his chair and swung it around behind him, throwing it across the room. "DON'T MERLE ME GOD DAMN IT!…I SAW YOU, I SAW YOU ALL THAT DAY. YOU DID NOTHING…NOTHING! THE WAY I SEE IT, IT WAS SOME KIND OF TEST. A TEST THAT YOU FAILED. YOU BETRAYED ME FOR PEOPLE WHO NEVER GAVE A RATS ASS ABOUT YOU. PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT YOU WERE GARBAGE. I'M THE ONLY ONE, THE ONLY ONE WHO EVER CARED ABOUT YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME? BY DOING NOTHING?"

Merle leaned in close to Daryl, cupping his hand against Daryl's cheek. Merle took his thumb and pressed into the wound Daryl had received from the butt of the crossbow. Daryl cringed in pain but didn't utter a sound. Merle was only a few inches from his face staring him in the eyes. Merle spoke calmly and quietly almost to a whisper "I'm very disappointed in you little brother….I think it best you stay here awhile…..you've got some thinking to do. You need to figure out where your loyalties lie."

Merle released his grip from Daryl's face and started to distance himself. Before Daryl could say a word, Merle drew back his head and struck Daryl with a head butt knocking him unconscious. Merle looked down at Jade on the floor. She didn't dare look up at him as he exited the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 6**

Jade sat against the wall in disbelief. She stared at Daryl unconscious and slumped over in the chair. _So Sheriff…..or should I say Merle has a brother…interesting, _Jade thought to herself. _Why is this man really here? What kind of game is this? _Jade couldn't help but be suspicious if this whole ordeal with Daryl was just an act for Jade, granted a painful act for him, in order to convince her there may be someone she could trust. Someone she could confide in. It didn't matter regardless, she would never tell Merle what he wanted. She would take it to the grave with her just out of sheer spite. If she ever folded he would kill her anyways. Merle had learned he couldn't trust Jade not to be a saboteur and therefore she was too big of a risk to keep around. She knew Merle thought it was just a matter of time before she would break and Merle was willing to wait. However, the fact of the matter was, all she knew was she was sitting across from Merle's brother. She wondered whether or not it could be something she could use to her advantage. If Merle really did feel betrayed by his brother, then even better. It showed Merle had a weakness.

Jade mustered up what energy she had left and attempted again to break the chain from the floor. There was a good amount of slack in the way she was chained giving her room to stand and walk around a little but it was just short enough that she couldn't reach the doorway and not quite long enough for her to reach Daryl.

"Why are you wasting energy with that?" Daryl groggily mumbled'. Jade stopped for a moment and shot a look to Daryl. "I don't recall asking for your opinion." She knew she shouldn't be putting herself on Daryl's bad side. If she was going to use him for help then she needed to not be blurting things like that out. She turned and pulled on the chain again with all her might.

"Fine then, do whatever the fuck you want" Daryl felt like someone split open his head with an axe. "Fuck!" He leaned his head back and closed his eyes again for a moment. He opened his eyes and looked back down at Jade.

"How long have you been like that?" Daryl gave Jade a slight head nod. Jade sat still and just stared at him. After about a minute she replied "I'm not sure, I've lost count of the days." Daryl wasn't exactly trying to make small talk with her but he was trying to figure out what was going on. He didn't know who he should be trusting. His impulse was to try to help her but at the same time wanted to trust Merle. Merle's actions though hadn't really been something he wanted to be a part of. Regardless of how Merle was, Daryl always believed Merle would have his back. Daryl continued to try to turn his wrists back in forth in effort to free himself. He was about to give up when he felt the rope on his right wrist loosen.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 7**

Daryl was working quickly to untie his feet when he heard the door knob turning. Just about the time Earl opened the door, Daryl had sprung to his feet and rushed the door tackling Earl into the hallway. Although Earl was larger than he was, the surprise of the attack caught Earl completely off guard making it easy for Daryl. Knocking his crossbow out of Earl's hand, Daryl began punching him repeatedly in the face then grabbed him by the shirt and pulled his face towards his.

"Where's the key?" Daryl demanded sternly. "Where is it you fat fuck?"

Earl's arms were flapping around like wet noodles and he managed to point towards his front right pocket. Daryl reached down into his pocket and pulled out a small brass key. He punched Earl in the face again. "That's for beating a woman!"

He grabbed his crossbow from the floor and ran back inside the room. Jade had a stunned look on her face when she saw Daryl return. He knelt down beside her and unlocked the cuffs from around her ankles and wrists. He grabbed her right arm with his left hand and pulled her up dragging her towards the doorway. Jade could barely get her feet under herself and keep up. When they entered the hallway Jade saw Earl rolling over to his side then onto his stomach in an attempted to push himself to the standing position. Before he could even get off the ground Daryl pointed his crossbow and took aim. Pulling the trigger an arrow shot straight into Earl's ass. Earl cried out in pain. "And that's for touching my crossbow asshole!"

Jade and Daryl began to run down the hallway, Daryl still having a grip on her arm. He wasn't quite sure what he was doing. He couldn't leave her chained up in that room but wasn't ready to let go of her either. All Daryl wanted was the truth of what was happening. The end of the hallway opened up into a recreation room of some sort. Daryl was trying to figure out exactly where he was when he saw Merle sitting by the exit door.

"Well that certainly took you long enough." Merle laughed out loud.

With his crossbow down by his side Daryl pushed Jade behind him to shield her. Jade rested her hand on his bicep but looked around the room for another exit. The only exit was through Merle.

"Rescuing the damsel in distress Daryl? Now I'm surprised you even have the nerve to touch her." Merle stood up and began to walk towards them.

"You see Jade, I say that because Daryl always seemed to have a bit of a fear of women. Growing up he always kept to himself. Me on the other hand, I used to be the ladies man. I'd bring a different whore home almost every night. Daryl couldn't hardly bring himself to look at them." Merle began to laugh as he spoke.

"Shut up Merle! You just shut up!" Daryl barked.

Merle continued laughing as he was trying to speak "There was this one time, it was Daryl's 16th birthday and you're not going to believe this. I knew that if left up to him, he'd probably stay a virgin his whole life. He could barely look at a woman let alone touch one. I bought a cheap whore for him for his birthday. It was time to make a man out of Daryl. Ain't that right little brother?"

Jade could see Daryl's face turn red from embarrassment. "Merle stop" Daryl's voice began to get weaker as he spoke. Merle approached them closer. Jade kept waiting for Daryl to respond and she gave him a nudge in attempt to signal him to do something.

Daryl's eyes remained fixed on Merle. Daryl couldn't help but think about that night. Merle had to liquor him up for him to even go through with it. She was some woman Merle picked up at the local dive where he spent most of his time when he wasn't locked up.

Merle was staring straight into Daryl's eyes as he continued to slowly walk closer and closer. "Oh and I almost forgot the best part….I was gonna give her $20 to fuck him but before I could name a price she offered to do it for $10!" Merle let out a loud burst of laughter and laughed so hard his eyes began to water.

Daryl stood silent and straight faced still following Merle with his eyes. Merle quit laughing and stepped forward once more putting both of them facing in opposite directions side by side. Jade squeezed Daryl's bicep tighter but got no response. Jade buried her face in Daryl's back and closed her eyes. Merle reached up behind him and slowly began to wrap Jade's hair around his hand. He stood there staring eye to eye with Daryl. In one fell swoop, Merle jerked down his arm and pulled Jade out from behind Daryl dragging her to the floor. Jade screamed out. She began to frantically struggle. Her struggling didn't phase Merle one bit. The brothers still in their staring contest.

Merle pulled Jade up off the floor, still gripping her hair and pulled her body close to his stepping directly in front of Daryl. She quit struggling. Face to face with his brother, Merle held up Jade as if presenting her to him.

"Here Daryl, here's another whore for you….look at her…..LOOK AT HER!" He yelled.

Daryl broke stare with Merle and looked into Jade's eyes. They looked dark and empty. Daryl's stomach turned. He felt conflicted, like he should've done something to help her but at the same time didn't want to betray Merle again. He was stuck in the middle not knowing what to do. He had never raised his hand to a woman but he felt like handing her over to Merle by doing nothing was beginning to feel just as bad if not worse.

"Come on little brother" Merle spoke quietly to Daryl "Take a good look at her….her body is so firm and perky." Merle said almost mockingly. Jade closed her eyes and clenched her teeth.

"You can take her if you want little brother" Merle pulled Jade's body closer into his and slowly began to grind up against her. "….the way she tastes…..the way she smells….I **took** her…isn't that right Jade?…..she was so warm and tight…" Merle looked back at Daryl. The color began to drain from Daryl's face. Merle pushed her body away from his still holding onto her hair and began to laugh.

"Come over here Earl, you worthless sack of shit" Merle hollered "Come take this bitch to the box.". Earl stumbled from the hallway, blood smeared down his face and onto the front of his shirt. He came up and grabbed Jade by the arm and took her outside. "Afterwards clean yourself up you nasty bitch!" Merle hollered after him.

Daryl covered his mouth with his hand and felt as though he was going to vomit. He closed his eyes feeling like he had made the mistake of his life. Merle put his hand on Daryl's shoulder. "Come on little brother, let me show you my kingdom."


	8. Chapter 8

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 8**

"You asked me before why they call me Sheriff, well look around you. I make the law of the land here! This is MY kingdom; people do as I say if they want to survive." Merle outstretched his arms over his head. Daryl looked around to discover they were occupying an old campground. The main building that they had just exited was the recreation hall. He had been held prisoner in one of the smaller rooms off of the main large room. There was a circle campfire site and two large cabins with two smaller cabins set back slightly apart from the other buildings. Next to one of the larger buildings was a large garden full of plants. Daryl could see about five people working over there, three women and two young girls. If he had to guess the girls were around 10 or 12 and the three women varied in age, maybe a mother and two grown daughters, the mother in her fifties and the two girls in their twenties. Overall there wasn't a lot of distance between all the buildings to one another, a perimeter that would be fairly easy to guard due to its closeness. Daryl could see some kind of grid on top of each of the roofs of the buildings.

"What is all that?" Daryl pointed up towards the roofs of the buildings.

Merle began to chuckle "Oh yeah, that's one of the best parts about this place. You know all those bleeding heart yuppies that were always preaching about being green and all that bullshit? Well they converted this place to run off the grid! It's some kind of solar panel. Powered by the sun and the buildings are also all hooked up to wells along the property. Now we still have to boil it, but it's not contaminated. I'll be damned; those yuppies did something useful for a change instead of just bitching and crying. "

Earl approached them and held out a key to Merle. "She's all locked up in the box, she ain't going nowhere."Merle placed the key in his pants pocket.

Daryl noticed others walking around the camp, all doing various jobs. Daryl thought he counted about fifteen people total. They all appeared to cower as Merle passed by.

"Who are all these people?" Daryl asked

"These are **my** people little brother, these are the people that have proven their loyalty to me and have been allowed to survive. It's their reward, they obey me and I will keep them safe from walkers, provide them with shelter and food. If they get out of line, they have to suffer the consequences." Merle replied

Merle and Daryl stepped up on the porch of one of the smaller cabins and walked inside. "Sit down Daryl; we need to go over a few things." Merle put on a pot of coffee on the stove.

Daryl sat down on the couch, still feeling stunned and confused over the whole events that had taken place. "So, let me get this straight, you're torturing these people into obeying you? And what's with Jade, what has she done to deserve this?"

Merle shook his head and sighed deeply. "Little brother, you need to thicken that skin of yours. Since when did you become such a pussy? You must've been hanging around that other group too long. Haven't you looked around? It's the end of the world out there. It's kill or be killed. The strongest are the ones that survive. Look at those weaklings out there! They should be thanking me for keeping them alive."

"They're doing your dirty work for you" Daryl began to get angry; he was finally beginning to feel some clarity for what was happening.

"They are earning their keep! Now you can either be a part of this and stand beside me or I can make an example out of you to the others. Don't push me Daryl, I don't **want** to hurt you, but I will if you make me. We are at the top in this new world, you and me. Just imagine what we could do, the power we could have." Merle walked over to where Daryl was sitting and sat on the coffee table directly in front of him, leaning in close. "Now, you've already proven yourself today with Jade, don't start second guessing yourself now, but if you push me, I will push back and you know it." Merle handed Daryl a cup of coffee and walked towards the door. "I'll leave you to think about it, but I expect an answer tonight."

Daryl just sat there staring at his coffee. He couldn't remember the last time he had some. He was exhausted and the thoughts in his head were swirling just trying to take everything in. He could feel a headache coming on. He knew if he didn't go along with Merle that Merle would make an example of him. Merle already proved that by tying him up in the first place. He knew Merle had always been cruel, but never like this. Rick and the others leaving him to die on the roof top is what did this to him. It's what pushed him too far. Now there no ounce of mercy left in Merle, what little there was to begin with. And Jade, Daryl still didn't understand what was going on with her and Merle but he no longer cared. Whatever it was he knew it had gone too far, no one deserved something like this. He had to find a way to make things right. Pissed off at Merle, Rick, his old group and especially at himself, Daryl threw the coffee cup across the room, smashing it. The coffee leaving a large stain on the wall. Daryl just sat there, staring at the broken pieces.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 9**

…_The sun was streaming into the room, the crash of the ocean waves could be heard outside the window. The room was filled with white linens. Jade woke to the smell of coffee brewing. _

"_Wake up you lazy bum!" Michael, Jade's husband, smacked her hard on the ass. _

_Jade jumped from the pain "You're such a jerk! You better have brought me coffee!" Jade rolled over wrapping her sheet around her. She opened her eyes and smiled at Michael. She was always amazed she had found herself such an amazing man. He was tall and fit but not overly muscular. He had short light brown hair that was sort of spikey on top, it really seemed to have a mind of it's own. He was ruggedly handsome with a strong jaw line and deep blue eyes. Sometimes which had slight bags underneath them when he didn't sleep well. Even with bags under his eyes he was still as handsome as ever. "Have I ever not brought you coffee in the morning?" he asked as he handed her the cup of coffee._

"_I have the best husband…" Jade began to blow on her coffee to cool it._

"_Well I'll be sure to let him know you said so….you know there is a small fee for that" Michael said as he leaned in for a kiss._

"_Ewww! No! I have morning breath and coffee breath- morning coffee breath there's nothing worse!" Jade turned her head away from him._

"_I don't care, pay up!" Michael waited for Jade to turn her head back towards him and he kissed her gently on the lips._

"_Boy you sure were right, you do need to brush your teeth!" Michael laughed as he headed out of the room._

"_I hate you, ya know!" Jade remarked. Michael turned back around and gave her a smirk "I know, I love you too….."_

Jade opened her eyes, she was surrounded by darkness. She began to panic not knowing where she was. She tried to stand but hit her head on something. She felt above and around her and realized she was inside of a box. There was a small hole in the side of the box to allow in air. There was just enough room where she could slightly move around. _The box…._ Merle had put her in there once before. All she remembered then and what she could tell now was how hot it was in there. The air was so humid it felt almost too thick to breath. She knew she had to stay calm and try not to panic. Her whole body ached. She turned over to her back and stared into the darkness of what was the top of the box. She closed her eyes. _Michael…._ Jade ached for him. She felt like she was living a nightmare and would never wake up. She hadn't dreamed about their life together in weeks. She was beginning to feel like giving up but she knew she couldn't. No matter how much it hurt to dream about Michael, it also gave her the strength she needed. "I won't let you down Michael." Jade rolled back to her side, curled up in the fetal position and quietly cried.

Daryl woke up to someone shaking his shoulder "Wake up boy!" Merle called out to him.

Daryl rubbed his eyes. He had fallen asleep sitting up with his head back. Now he had a slight crick in this neck. He rubbed the back of his neck for relief. "What time is it?" he said sleepily.

"It's late, you hungry?" Merle asked.

"No" Daryl shook his head in attempt to wake himself up. He was hungry but he didn't feel like eating anything. He felt like he could sleep for days.

"Well, if that's the case then I need your answer…are you with me Daryl? Can I count on you to honor your own flesh and blood?" Merle asked.

Daryl stared for a moment at Merle. He knew what he had to do. The only way he could make things right was to convince Merle that he was on board with Merle's plan. No matter how much it made him feel sick, he knew it was the only way. "You know I am Merle, you're my brother". Daryl felt guilty for lying to Merle but he knew what Merle was doing was wrong.

Merle laughed and smack Daryl on the cheek. "I knew it, I knew you would come around! You just needed a little time is all to get your head straight." Merle got up to leave. "Consider this cabin your new home, mine's the one next door. Just you and me little brother, two kings in their castle!".

After Merle left, Daryl walked out on the porch and looked around. He could see Earl standing by a box to the side of the recreation hall. He figured it was where they were keeping Jade. He knew any attempt to get her out that night would be useless. He would find a way to get her out in the morning. Daryl went back into the cabin. It was a single room cabin not including the bathroom. There was a living room and a kitchen area in the front and the bed was in the back of the room. It had been months since Daryl had slept in a bed. He sat on the edge of the bed taking his boots off. He was too tired to get further undressed. He laid on his back and immediately fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 10**

Daryl woke up right at dawn. He got up and walked over to the window. His mind immediately went to Jade. He looked towards the recreation hall at the box. Walter was now standing guard. Daryl figured Merle wasn't taking any chances with him even if he had told him he was on his side. Daryl walked over to the stove and made a pot of coffee. He was starving. He looked around in the kitchen cabinets for something to eat but didn't find anything. He would check with Merle in a bit but for now he was going to sit down and attempt to come up with some type of plan to free Jade. The problem was, he had no idea what to do.

_Michael and Jade entered their house dragging their suitcases. "Babe, I love our yearly trip to the beach but does the flight home get longer every year or is it just me?" Michael dropped his suitcase in the front hallway by the door. "Michael, I swear if you leave that suitcase out for a month I'm going to hurt you!" Michael put his arms around Jade's waist and pulled her close to his chest. "Promise?" he leaned in and kissed her. Jade pulled away "Don't even try it" Jade laughed "That won't work, take your damn suitcase upstairs!" _

Jade woke up from the daylight shining in the hole in the box. Her body ached all over. Her legs were beginning to cramp from being so confined. Her reoccurring dreams of her life with Michael were almost overwhelming. What she wouldn't give to have his arms around her one more time. She wondered how long Merle would keep her in there this time. It was only morning but it was sweltering inside the box. All Jade could think about was how thirsty she was.

Daryl stepped out onto the porch just as Merle was approaching the cabin. "Well I was just about to wake you little brother."

"What's for breakfast Merle, I'm starving" Daryl asked. "Follow me, we'll go get some grub."

Daryl followed Merle back over to the recreation hall. Daryl couldn't help but look in the direction of the box wondering how Jade was doing. Upon entering the rec. hall Daryl could smell something cooking. His stomach began to hurt from hunger pangs. On the opposite side of the room further away from the smaller rooms where he and Jade were held, was a small open kitchen area. Daryl hadn't noticed it the day before. Merle and Daryl sat at one of the small tables next to the kitchen. A woman, one of the women from the garden the day before, came out bringing them both coffee. She quickly went back into the kitchen and brought them each a bowl and spoon. Daryl looked down and noticed it was a bowl of grits. He thought this was going to be the best bowl of grits he had ever had.

"Grits? Where on earth did you get grits?" Daryl asked the woman. The woman didn't respond and just stood there with her head down. Merle waved the woman away and she returned into the kitchen.

"There is a whole pantry full of stuff to eat, grits, oatmeal, canned food, all sorts of stuff. I'm telling you, it's like this place was just sitting here waiting for someone to find it."

They both began to eat, Daryl wolfed his down since he hadn't eaten in days. Merle took his time. Two men Daryl hadn't seen before entered the hall and stood a short distance away from their table. Merle took his time looking up at them.

"Sheriff…..John and Robert are keeping watch on the north and west side of the camp and Earl is on the east….Walter is covering the south and the box." one of the men advised.

"Alright then, I guess you can eat. After you're done, relieve Walter and Earl, then they can relieve John and Robert. Once all you men are done eating, you can allow the workers to eat." Merle turned his focus back to his bowl.

"Thank you Sheriff, thank you sir" both men went and sat at a table nearby. The woman came from the kitchen as soon as they sat down and served them as she had Daryl and Merle.

"Who are all these people?" Daryl asked Merle. Daryl tried to count back to how many people he saw yesterday as well as adding these new people today. He came to about 20 but wasn't sure that was right either.

"Well…. You met Walter and Earl. Both are dumb as rocks but I met up with them in the city, shortly after your friend handcuffed me to a rooftop. You should have seen them both, scared to death! Can you imagine the look on their face when they see me stumbling by, missing a hand and my stump still smoking?" Merle laughed out loud as if he was even proud of it. " I knew I'd never have any trouble with them. They are like lost hungry dogs, all they need is a little attention and food and they are loyal to you for life. As far as those two over there (Merle gestured to the two men that had sat down) I'd say we ran into them on one of our runs for supplies, they were beating the crap out of a walker. I liked their drive, thought they had potential with a little guidance. The other two out watching the perimeter were old buddies of Walter and Earl. We ran into them just outside of the city. They are slightly smarter versions of Walter and Earl."

Merle continued eating as if he was done talking. Daryl waited a moment to see if he would continue on but Merle just kept on eating. "Merle….and the others…."

"Oh yeah them, well they are just people we've picked up along the way. About once a week we will go out and search the surrounding areas here. Making sure not too many people are coming through. We don't want to be over run here. Whoever we come across, we take out the young, strong men first and decide if anyone left can be of use. If they can be, then we bring them here and introduce them to one of those rooms. (Merle gestured toward the opposite side of the hall where the smaller rooms were) They have what I'd call-time to think. To think about whether they want to survive or be put out of their misery. If they want to survive then they need to be disciplined….I believe you've already seen a glimpse of what goes on in those rooms. I have very little tolerance for people who disobey me. They learn that real fast. Even good ole faithful Walter and Earl had a turn in those rooms, nobody gets a pass. That way there is no doubt in anyone's mind what I'm capable of."

Daryl just stared in silence at Merle. He couldn't help but notice how casual Merle was when referring to those people. People that he no doubt had spent time torturing. He wondered if he chained everyone up they way he did Jade. He already admitted to raping Jade, was this something he did with all the women? Daryl's stomach started to turn with the thought of it. He was also beginning to regret eating so fast. He took a deep breath to keep his food down.

"Come on Daryl, let's go, we've got better things to do than just sit here and chat like two women."


	11. Chapter 11

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 11**

Daryl paced back and forth in front of Merle's cabin. It was still early and only a few people were awake. It had been a few days since he had told Merle that he was on board with Merle's warped way of living. Jade was still inside the box. There was someone standing guard on that side of the camp at all times, in fact there were four positions around the camp that were constantly guarded. Daryl felt guilty for so much time passing, leaving Jade confined. Merle had been stuck to Daryl pretty much the whole time, showing him around, almost bragging at his "accomplishments" of the campsite. Daryl hadn't done anything to get Jade out of the box and it was killing him. He was still at a loss of what to do.

"Boy are you going to pace out there all day or what?" Merle was standing in the doorway of his cabin, he turned back around and went inside.

Daryl walked up onto the porch and entered the cabin. Merle had sat back on the couch and was sorting boxes of ammunition on his coffee table. His cabin was set up the same as his. Daryl noticed a trunk in the floor that was open. The trunk appeared to be bolted to the floor. There was a large chain wrapped around the trunk with a heavy duty combination padlock, Daryl realized Merle was using this to keep the trunk locked.

"Damn, where'd all this come from?" Daryl started to look at what the different calibers were.

"Oh just ammo I've picked up along the way and from other people's camps." Merle replied.

Daryl looked over into the trunk "Where are the guns to go with it?"

Merle slammed his fist down on the table knocking over most of the cartridges. "Now look at what you made me do, GOD DAMN IT!"

Merle's yelling had startled Daryl. He didn't understand why he suddenly became so angry. Merle shook his head a moment and regained his composure. He began resorting the calibers again.

"Well…..that's where that bitch Jade comes in. I will admit, I underestimated that girl. She really had me fooled. She's a devilish one…that she is! She was one of the first few people we brought back to the camp. Didn't hardly speak a word, kept to herself, worked hard. She certainly was the last person I would've suspected. We had rounded up some weapons and ammo from the city and took what all they had from Jade's old camp. Jackson, one of the men guarding the perimeter, used to work at an armory so I had him checking all the guns in the rec. hall making sure they were all functioning properly and didn't need cleaning. Luckily I still had the ammo locked up in the trunk here or who knows what would've happened. Jade was fixing dinner in the hall that night while he was in there. I'm not sure what all went on but Walter came running up to the cabin here hollerin' like a madman, he had been watching the south side of the camp near the rec. hall. He had a big gash on the side of his head and was bleeding like a stuck pig. I rushed over to the rec. hall and found Jackson out cold on the floor. A duffle bag and all my guns were gone. I wouldn't have believed it was her if Walter hadn't seen her before she clocked him upside the head. She took off in those woods there and hid them somewhere. We caught up with her about five miles down the road empty handed. Honestly, I'm surprised she hadn't made it further. They are here somewhere. I tell you, we've looked everywhere for them. I don't have any idea where she hid them. But I will get it out of her no matter how long I have to torture her for it. And once I'm done, I'm going to enjoy killin' that bitch!"

Merle stayed focused on sorting the cartridges the whole time he was explaining the story to Daryl. Daryl understood now why Merle was so angry with her. Not only did she betray him in his mind but she stole from him and embarrassed him in front of everyone.

"Walter and Jackson got a good beatin' too once we brought her back. Walter wept like a little girl. Had to teach them they can't let no woman make a fool out of them. No excuse, I tell you no excuse. It's like you can't count on nobody to do nothing right. You have to do everything your damn self. That's why I'm glad you've come around little brother, now at least I know someone can get things done at least half as good as me." Merle stated.

Daryl was trying to process everything as quickly as he could and then he had an idea. He knew it was a risky one but he had to at least try. He hadn't come up with anything else so at this point, he didn't have anything to lose.

"I was thinking Merle…about that…..how long have you had Jade tied up like that?"

Merle looked at Daryl for a moment, "Oh I don't know…let's see here…..probably about two months I supposed."

"TWO MONTHS!" Daryl blurted out, he was stunned it had been that long.

"Yeah…..I will admit, I'm a little impressed with her dedication. I'm not completely heartless with her. She gets the garbage scraps from dinner. I mean, I have to keep her strength up somewhat to make sure she doesn't croak before she gives me what I want. But at some point, she will lose." Merle said.

Daryl bit his lip as his mind was racing. "That's a long time for her to be holdin' out. I have an idea about that….." Daryl felt a lump in his throat, he hoped this worked.

"What's that saying Merle, that old lady neighbor Mrs. Brinkman used to say to us when we would fight with the other kids in the neighborhood? Something about catching more flies with honey? Maybe that's what you need here with Jade. Maybe you're going about it the wrong way."

Merle shot Daryl a dirty look but before Merle could speak Daryl continued on. "Maybe she would respond more if she thought she could trust who was asking the questions. You know, let me have a crack at her. Give me some time with her, I mean more than a day or two, get her to let her guard down and maybe then she'll slip up and tell me where she hid the guns. It's worth a try Merle. I know I can do it."

Merle just stared into Daryl's eyes. Daryl could tell he was trying to read him. Daryl had lied to Merle plenty of times when they were younger to keep from getting an ass kicking before he was strong enough to give him a good fight. Daryl knew how to lie to Merle when he had to. He just had to stay focused.

"And why the hell would you think I would do that?" Merle asked, not looking very keen on the idea.

"For one, she doesn't know me, the most she knows of me is from when we were locked in that room together and the fact that we are brothers. I know if you give me a chance, I can convince her to trust me and get it out of her…I just need some time is all." Daryl looked Merle dead in the eyes waiting for his response.

Daryl felt like Merle had been staring at him forever when Merle finally spoke. "….I'll think about it…in the meantime, I need you to take Earl and the two of you head west, see what all and who all you can find. Raid other camps if you find them. See if you can round up any supplies we can use, tools, weapons and the like. Don't come back empty handed."


	12. Chapter 12

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 12**

It was getting close to dark when Daryl and Earl were heading back to camp. Both men had armed themselves before leaving camp, Daryl with his crossbow and Earl had a large metal pipe. Without those guns they were certainly lacking for weapons. Daryl wasn't quite sure how he would've handled Earl if they had come across another camp. Luckily all they stumbled upon were some abandoned cars and they raided them empty. Daryl just took whatever wasn't attached. He figured they could get some kind of use out of all it. Each man had a large duffel bag full. Daryl wondered if Merle had made a decision about Jade.

They approached the campsite and Earl gave out a whistle to let the others know they were approaching. Both men entered the rec. hall and as they did, Daryl noticed that the box Jade was in was open. Daryl wondered what Merle did with her. His heart began to race. Daryl and Earl put both duffel bags on the floor. Walter came rushing over like a child at Christmas looking to see what Santa had brought.

"I'll…I'll take care of all this stuff….." Walter said eagerly.

Merle was sitting at the same small table they ate at before, eating dinner. He had a plate full of food, mashed potatoes, fried okra and what looked and smelled like venison. Daryl didn't realize how hungry he was until he caught a smell of the food. His stomach growled.

"So how did it go little brother?" Merle asked with his mouth full.

"Ok I guess, we didn't run into anyone, walker or not. Stumbled upon a few cars, took what we could from them." Daryl replied.

Merle kept shoveling food in his mouth and talking "Any weapons?"

Daryl lifted up the back of his shirt and removed a revolver from his waistband. He placed on the table in front of Merle. Merle stopped eating and wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin then placing it down on top of his plate to indicate he was finished. He reached over and picked up the revolver. The woman who was serving dinner rushed over and began to remove Merle's plate. Merle pointed the revolver in her face and the woman froze. Merle cocked back the hammer and pulled the trigger…...Click...…the woman jumped and almost knocked Merle's plate off the table. Merle laughed and put the gun back down "You remove that plate when I tell you to, we clear?" Merle paused for a moment and the woman shook her head yes but never once looked him in the face. "Alright then, this was your one warning, do it again and I will chop that hand right off" Merle held up his stub of a right arm "And don't think that I won't do it for a second. Now get back in the kitchen and get my brother here a plate, I'm sure he's worked up quite the appetite!"

Merle pointed for Daryl to sit down. As he did Merle stood up and picked up the revolver again. "I knew you'd do good! And for that, I have a little reward for you, but eat your dinner first and then meet me at your cabin." Merle left the rec. hall with the revolver. The woman brought Daryl his plate of food and utensils wrapped in a cloth napkin. She placed them on the table in front of him.

"Thank you" Daryl said as she started to walk away. The woman look surprised as she glanced at Daryl's face and quickly looked away, heading back into the kitchen. She quickly returned with a glass of water and placed it on the table next to the plate. Daryl thanked her again, this time the woman didn't look at Daryl and just returned to the kitchen.

Daryl wanted to wolf down his food again, not just because he was hungry but because he wanted to know what Merle had done with Jade and what "reward" Merle had planned for him. He could only imagine. He tried to make himself eat slowly so he didn't seem too eager. He didn't want Merle to suspect he was up to anything and put Jade back in the box. Daryl looked around the room and saw that no one was paying attention to him. He took his piece of venison and wrapped it in his napkin. He quickly shoved it into his pocket. As soon as he finished the vegetables, he picked up his glass of water and headed outside, taking a sip from the glass as he went.

Daryl approached the porch of his cabin and saw Merle sitting on a chair outside.

"Have a seat" Merle said as he pointed to the chair next to him. Daryl sat down and drank a little more from his glass.

"Now listen Daryl, I thought about what you said earlier and as I'm sure you noticed, the box is empty. I still think the way to get Jade to talk is to rip it out of her. You've done good these last few days so I'm willing to give you a shot at her. But I will tell you right now, if you turn your back on her she will stab you in it. I'd hate to think she'd make a fool out of you too and then I'd be left with no choice but to beat some sense back into you as well." With that Merle stood up and walked inside Daryl's cabin, Daryl followed after him. Once inside Daryl noticed Jade was lying unconscious on the floor. There had been a support post that ran from floor to ceiling that divided the bed area from the living room. Merle had a shackle on one of Jade's ankles and the chain connected to it was wrapped around the base of the post secured with another heavy duty combination padlock. Daryl figured Merle must've raided a hardware store somewhere to be coming up with all these chains and padlocks he had.

"There's enough chain here for her to get to the bed and to the bathroom. She won't make it far in the living room and she can't reach the kitchen. I didn't want to take the chance of her finding something to use as a weapon from there. I made sure there were no sharp objects within her reach or in the bathroom, nothing she can use to whack you upside the head since she tends to like to do that. I'm the only one who has the key to the shackle and combination to the padlock but I ain't gonna give it to ya so don't bother askin'. I'll make sure the other guys take care of what needs to be taken care of around the campsite while your busy here. Knowing you Daryl, I'm sure it's been quite some time since you've had anyone play with your dick so take advantage of it, it's kind of slim pickin's around here. Trust me, she will be worth your while, she's quite the fighter." Merle laughed as he started to head towards the door. Daryl felt sick to his stomach again at Merle's suggestion. Merle stopped short of leaving and turned back to Daryl. "You have one week, after that, she's all mine again."


	13. Chapter 13

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 13**

After Merle left, Daryl just stared at Jade for a moment. He didn't want to rush over to her too quickly in case Merle was still keeping an eye on him. Daryl went over to the kitchen, removing the napkin from his pocket and placing it on the counter. He began looking through the cabinets finding a bowl that he filled with water and a hand towel. He took the bowl and glass of water he had over to Jade and knelt down beside her.

Jade's face was a splotchy red. Her hair and clothing were stuck to her skin from sweating. Daryl knew she had to be dehydrated. He was surprised being in the box so long hadn't already killed her. He soaked the towel in the bowl of water and rung it out. He began wiping her face with the towel. He could feel the heat radiating off of her skin. Daryl let the towel draped over her forehead and headed back to the recreation hall. He figured if they had solar power to operate all the buildings and appliances, then hopefully they had a working freezer with ice. Daryl entered the kitchen where the woman from before was cleaning up. He saw her shove something in her mouth but she looked startled when she saw him, similar to that of a child being caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She placed her hand over her mouth and froze, just staring at Daryl.

"Is there any ice here?" Daryl asked. The woman remained silent. "I need ice, whatever you have." Daryl looked at her trying to wait patiently for some kind of response but his patience was wearing thin. The woman slowly began to chew what was in her mouth and then reached into one of the cabinets pulling out a pot. She opened the freezer door and there was a small amount of ice inside. She placed it all into the pot and sheepishly handed it to Daryl.

Daryl rushed back over to the cabin and took the ice to the bathtub, dumping it in. It wasn't much and he didn't even know if it had been worth the trouble but he figured it was worth a try. He turned on the water to fill up the tub. He wondered if it was safe or if it should be boiled first but he knew there was no time for that and for the water to cool off. He hoped it would be ok. Once the tub was filled he went over to Jade, picking her up in his arms. The chain attached to her ankle made it slightly awkward to carry her but he rushed her over to the tub. Her body was limp and lifeless. He carefully lowered her in, the chain clanking against the porcelain. He was about to release her when Jade's body jerked and she opened her eyes, gasping for air. She began to struggle. Daryl kept a hold of her.

"You're ok, you're ok, I've got you….." Daryl repeated until she began to calm down. She looked confused and disoriented. She struggled to keep her eyes open. She reached out her arms, clutching the sides of the tub. Jade looked around the room and then focused on Daryl. She could barely hold her head up. Daryl reached his hand around to support the back of her head and led her to lean on the back of the tub. She just glared up at him. She looked as if she wanted to speak but was unable to.

"Just try to relax, you need to cool off…..here…." Daryl tried to get her to drink the water from his glass he brought from the rec. hall but as soon as she tried she coughed and spit the water out. Daryl sat the glass back down. "You need to drink…we'll try again soon." Daryl felt at a loss. He didn't know if anything he was doing was actually helping. Daryl stepped out of the bathroom and came back in carrying a step stool and the hand towel. He sat down on the stool next to the tub. Daryl leaned forward placing the wet towel back on her forehead. Jade continued to be silent and just stare at him. A few minutes later her eyes rolled back and her body slumped further into the tub. Daryl reached in, wrapping one arm around her to keep her head from going under.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 14**

_Jade and Michael both woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. Both ignored it at first but whoever it was just kept calling. Finally Jade couldn't take it any longer she pushed on Michael "Babe, make it stop!" She said groggily. Michael rolled over and grabbed the cell phone from the nightstand. "Hello?..." Michael rubbed his eyes trying to wake himself up. He immediately sat up and began looking for something. "Wait, what?...What are you talking about? Calm down, I'm looking for the remote now…hang on….." Jade rolled over looking at Michael confused wondering what the conversation was; she waited for him to say something else. "…..no we got back two days ago, we've pretty much just stayed in bed the whole time." Jade still didn't know who he was talking to. "Sshhh! don't tell people that…." Jade gently smacked Michael on the back. Michael grabbed the remote from the nightstand drawer and turned on the television. There were emergency broadcasts running on all the stations. Jade sat up taking the remote from Michael. Both just stared looking concerned at the television. Jade turned up the volume. The reporter on the news was advising of the shelters that were open in the area and instructing people where to take the sick. There was a banner running at the bottom of the screen labeled with large letters that read "VIRUS; OUTBREAK!" Michael jumped out of bed and began to get dressed while still on the phone. "No, no it's ok…calm down….it's alright, don't cry….I'm on my way…I'll be there soon just sit tight." Michael hung up the phone, shoving it in his pocket "Where's your phone?" Michael asked _

"_I don't know it's here somewhere…" Jade replied_

_Michael began to raise his voice "Find it then! DAMN IT!" Michael paced back and forth in the room frantically looking for his things._

_Jade felt of shiver of fear through her body. Michael never raised his voice at her. She didn't even know how to react after that. "Michael what's happening?"_

_Michael could see the fear in her eyes, he sat next to her on the bed and pulled her close. He squeezed her so hard she almost couldn't breathe. "I'm sorry…..I'm sorry" He pulled away from her and looked in her face, brushing her hair to the side with his hand. She had never seen him look so concerned. "Listen, I'm going to run to Tom's house that was Rachel, she said Tom is sick and she can't get him out of bed. She said the news is reporting that many of the hospitals are closed; she doesn't know what to do. I'm going to see what I can do to help."_

"_Well, I'm coming with you…." Jade got out of bed and began to get dressed._

"_NO!" Michael shook his head, he couldn't believe he had already yelled at Jade twice, he needed to calm down. "I need you to stay here, I don't know what it's like out there, from the news it looks like the world is going to shit."_

"_Michael, have you lost your mind? That's even more reason why I should go with you, I think we should stay together. We don't know what's happening here."_

"_That's even more reason for you to stay, Jade. I can't worry about protecting you and help my brother and Rachel. Please, and don't give me that I can protect myself crap, I know you can. You've always been strong. But my mind will be focused on you and you know that. I need you to do this for me. I need you to stay here, locked in the house where I know you are safe." Michael pleaded._

_Jade just shook her head yes. Her eyes began to tear up; she turned so Michael wouldn't see. Michael headed downstairs and she followed after him. He went to the hallway closet and pulled a box from the top shelf. He sat it on the hall table and opened it up. It contained two 9mm pistols, one Glock and one Smith & Wesson. Michael picked up one of the pistols. Picking up the loaded magazine, he rammed it into the butt of the gun, drawing back the slide to rack a round into the chamber. He tucked the gun in the back waistband of his pants. He picked up the other and did the same. This time after loaded, however, he held onto the barrel of the gun and handed it to Jade. He grabbed the extra loaded magazines out of the box, sliding one in his pocket and handed the other to Jade._

"_Show me how you grip the gun." Michael intently watched Jade as she pointed the weapon away from her body, gripping it with her right hand, using her left as support. "Good….now remember, you have done this before, don't put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire then just squeeze the trigger. If you run out and need to reload, push the button here, this drops the magazine. After you fire the last round, the slide will lock back in place; leave it like that, it makes it easier to reload. Take the other magazine and push it back up here but don't be gentle about it. It needs to lock into place. Pull back on the slide then release and it will automatically rack one in the chamber. If for some reason the slide is released before you put in the magazine and you need to rack one in the chamber yourself, then hold the slide with your left hand and pull back while pushing the grip with your right hand forward at the same time. This will make it easier. If the gun jams, which it shouldn't, pull back the slide and clear the chamber and rack one back up again." _

_Michael paused for a moment just looking at Jade. "Don't open the door for anyone. I don't care who they are or what they want. Don't open the door until I'm back." _

_Jade was beginning to feel overwhelmed; she wished Michael would just let her go. She didn't want to be apart from him. "Ok" was all she was able to say to him at this point and keep her composure. _

_Michael cupped her face in one of his hands and pulled her towards him kissing her deeply on the lips. "I will be back as soon as I can. Keep your cell phone on you at all times... I can't tell you how much I love you!" Michael was afraid he was telling her goodbye. He was about to walk out into a different world than they were used to and had no idea what to expect._

"_I love you too Michael, please be safe and hurry." Jade barely got the last part out without starting to cry. Michael walked out the door and climbed into his truck. Jade watched him drive away until she could no longer see him. She saw some the neighbors frantically packing their vehicles and running in and out of their houses. She closed the door and engaged the deadbolt._


	15. Chapter 15

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 15**

Jade woke up lying in a tub filled with water. Daryl was sitting next to her leaning on the side of the tub with his head down, one arm draped around her and the other tucked under his head on the side of the tub. He had fallen asleep. Jade felt dizzy and nauseous. She had no idea how she got there or even where she was. She had a splitting headache. She tried to pull herself up but her whole body felt weighted down. Her stirring caused Daryl to wake. Instinctively he tightened his grip, thinking she was slipping back into the tub, afraid she would drown. He lifted his head and looked at her sleepily.

"You're awake….here, try to sit up more if you can" Daryl remarked. Daryl helped pull her up to where she wasn't leaning on the back on the tub. Jade leaned on the side towards Daryl. She finally was able to lift her arms and she placed her elbow up on the side and held her head up with her hand. Daryl grabbed the glass of water he left on the floor and handed it to her, telling her to try and drink. She grabbed the glass with her other and it felt like it weighed a ton. Daryl saw she didn't have the strength to hold the glass on her own so he kept hold of it with her.

"….Slowly…" he said. Jade started to drink but gagged and began to cough. "Go easy….but you do need to drink something."

"Why am I here?... Where are we?... Why do you have me in the tub?" Jade's voice was weak and soft.

"You're still at camp, you're in my cabin. You were overheated. Honestly I thought it might've been too late." Daryl reached towards her pressing the back of his hand against her forehead. She was too tired to pull away from him. "You're much cooler now." Daryl replied.

"Can you get me out? I feel like a shriveled prune." Jade could hardly think her head hurt so much.

"Hang on, let me find something for you" Daryl left the bathroom and began to look around the cabin for something to help Jade dry off. He noticed there were clean clothes folded and left on the foot of the bed. He walked over to look through them and saw it was a pair of pants, a button down flannel shirt and a t-shirt. There were even a couple of pairs of boxers. Daryl had never been so happy to see clean underwear. Daryl grabbed the t-shirt and looked in the closet. He found a couple of towels folded on the shelf. He supposed Merle had one of the workers leave these for him. He didn't remember them being there before. He didn't really want to know who all these things originally belonged to.

Daryl rushed back to the bathroom, sitting the towels and shirt on the floor. He leaned over the tub wrapping one arm around Jade's back and the other under her knees. "Put your arm around my neck" he told her. He lifted her out with ease and placed her on the floor. Jade leaned against the side of the tub for support. She felt like someone was sitting on her chest making it difficult to breathe deeply. Daryl handed her one of the towels and kept the other. He lifted her leg that was chained and rested her foot on his lap. He began to thoroughly dry around the shackle.

"I can see some things haven't changed…" Eve hadn't noticed the chain attached to her. She followed it with her eyes out of the bathroom and saw the post it was attached to.

"I can't help that but for now I wanted to make sure this doesn't rust and make it more difficult to remove when I'm able." Daryl replied.

Jade was too tired to even dry herself off. Daryl was busy drying off her chain. She glanced over and saw the t-shirt on the floor. "Is that for me?"

Daryl looked up at her to see what she was referring to and nodded his head yes. Jade leaned over to try to reach for the t-shirt and just ended up lying on the floor. She was partially on her side and her stomach. She tucked the towel under her head. The tile floor was cold but felt good against her aching body. She started to close her eyes when she heard Daryl speak.

"Change out of your wet clothes I'll carry you to the bed. You'll be more comfortable there."

"I'm fine here." Jade didn't want to move. She just wanted to sleep. Daryl sat for a moment wondering if he should pick her up anyways and carry her to the bed but decided against it. He let her stay where she wanted.

Daryl walked back into the kitchen and debated whether or not he should just try to stay awake or go back to sleep. It was still a few hours before sunrise. Daryl noticed the napkin he left on the counter with the venison wrapped in it. He had wanted Jade to have it but he knew with her barely being able to drink water there was no way she would eat at this point. He picked up the napkin and carried it over to the bed. He kicked off his boots and lay down on his back. Unwrapping the venison, he began to eat while he stared at the ceiling. He was relieved Merle had come around in regards to Jade but he knew his victory was short lived. He hadn't planned any further than this and now was the time to really come up with a solution. No matter how much he told himself what Merle was doing to those people was wrong, he still felt guilty knowing he was betraying him. If he went through with this Merle would never forgive him and would certainly kill him given the chance. He would have to sever ties with Merle completely. He would no longer have a brother.

Daryl didn't want to think about it anymore. He rolled over to his side and closed his eyes, falling back asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 16**

Daryl woke up to the sound of chains rattling. He opened his eyes and could see Jade crawling from the bathroom. She had managed to change into the t-shirt and out of the filthy, tattered dress she had been wearing for who knows how long. Daryl sat up catching her attention. She stopped at the post and leaned against it. She didn't speak, just glared at him.

"How do you feel?" Daryl asked.

"How do you think I feel?" Jade remarked back

Daryl didn't answer he got up and put his boots back on. "I'm going to get something to eat; I will bring you back some food along with something to drink in just a bit." Daryl thought of offering to help her to the bed so she could be more comfortable but he could tell by the look on her face she didn't want to be anywhere near him. He left the cabin and headed towards the rec. hall. Jade quickly discovered the only areas she had any real access to were the bathroom and the bed area. She was able to crawl partially into the living room space but couldn't reach the table or couch. She crawled her way over to the bed. It took all her strength to pull herself up on it. She laid on her stomach across the bed and fell back asleep.

_Jade watched the news a bit more but decided to mute the sound after awhile because it was just making her impatient for Michael to return. It looked like utter chaos out there. There were reports of the sick viciously attacking people and the military had moved into the cities. She went into the garage and looked around at their tools. She didn't know what half the stuff was but grabbed one of Michael's tool bags and began to pack it with tools she thought looked important. She also grabbed their camping equipment and packed it in the back of her SUV that was parked in the garage. If they had to leave quickly once he returned she wanted them to be ready. She had a few cases of water stacked in the garage, she packed those as well. She grabbed the spare gas can but it was only half full. She figured it would be hard to get gas if they needed it from a station. She noticed a spare garden hose hanging on the wall; she pulled it off the wall and cut a section out of it with a utility knife. "Sorry babe, but you will thank me later" and she screwed the gas cap off of Michael's riding lawn mower and jammed one end of the hose in. She took the other end and knelt by the gas can with it. She lined herself up holding the can steady with one hand and the end of the hose with another. She took a deep breath, put her mouth on the end of the hose and sucked…nothing…."Fuck! They make this look so easy on TV." Jade took another deep breath and tried again, still nothing. She stood up and pulled the hose, rearranging it inside the mower. She got back into position and tried to steady her breathing. When she was ready she took another deep breath putting the end of the hose in her mouth and sucking as hard as she could. This time it worked. Once the gas started to hit her mouth she shoved the hose into the gas can, gagging and coughing from the taste and smell. She drained out as much as she could and placed the cap back on the can. She rushed to the back of the SUV and realized she had packed everything in the cargo area. **"Crap!"** she thought as sat the can down and went to the side of the car to fold down the back seat. Once down she went back to the cargo area and pushed everything she had packed so far forward. There was a compartment in the cargo area of the SUV floorboard kind of like a trunk. Thankfully the gas can wasn't too large and fit in there. She thought it would be safer there but didn't know if it really made a difference._

_She ran back into the house to the kitchen sink, sticking her face under the faucet to wash her mouth out with water. She did this a few times spitting into the sink. She washed her hands but still felt like she smelled like gasoline but didn't know if she actually did or if the smell was just stuck in her nose. She ran back upstairs and packed a bag each of essentials for her and Michael. She didn't bother with putting the clothes in neatly, she just shoved them in. She went to each bathroom and took all the medication she could find. It was mainly over the counter meds but something was better than nothing she thought. Running back to the bedroom, she shoved what she had into the duffel bags and then went into the closet. She grabbed one spare pair of shoes for both of them. She looked around the closet to see if there was anything else that she should take and noticed the new dress she bought hanging on the back of the door. It was a fairly simple dress, a shirt style button down one that was tan with small red flowers on it. She had already deemed it her favorite as soon as she bought it. "I know you aren't a necessity but I'm taking you anyways." She grabbed it off the hanger and shoved it into one of the bags along with the extra shoes. _

_She ran back downstairs and put the bags in the SUV and came back up into the house. She grabbed a box from the pantry and started filling it with all the dry and canned goods she could find. She struggled to carry the box, it being so heavy, but manage to make it back to the garage and into the car. At this point she was getting tired and out of breath from all the running around she was doing. _

_She walked back upstairs trying to slow her breathing down and take another look around to see what she may have missed. Once back up in the bedroom she sat on the edge of the bed. She looked up at the television and noticed the channel had color bars on the screen. "What the hell?" Jade grabbed the remote and began flipping channels; it was the same on all of them. Jade ran downstairs to the living room, turning on the radio. She heard nothing but static. She tried flipping the other channels but there was still nothing. Jade began to panic. She reached in her pocket for her phone to see if maybe she missed Michael calling her. No missed calls. She tried calling him but he didn't answer. Now she was really worried. **Where**** was ****he?**** What ****was**** making**** him**** take**** so ****long?** He had been gone for hours at this point. She didn't know what to do, if she should go out looking for him or wait for him there._

_ Jade's mind was racing when she heard a scream from outside. She ran over to the window and saw her neighbors across the street. The wife and husband were outside and he had a hold of her from behind. Jade watched as he bit down into her neck and ripped a large chunk of skin off. Blood sprayed and poured from her neck and her body fell limp to the ground. The husband dropped to the ground with her and appeared to be chewing on her arm. "OH MY GOD" Jade screamed and covered her mouth in shock with her hands. Then she noticed her female next door neighbor in her front yard near the porch. Her neighbor looked like death, just like the man across the street that was busy feasting on his wife. Her neighbor slowly began to towards Jade's house. Jade ducked away from the window back against the wall. She stood as still and quiet as she could. She heard the neighbor step up on to the porch. Jade could hear the dragging of the neighbor's feet and heard the neighbor press up against the glass window she was just looking out of. Jade closed her eyes and bit her lip to keep from screaming. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Go away…go away….go away" she repeated to herself. She heard a pounding on the window. _

_"Oh God!...where did I put the gun?" Jade thought to herself as she scanned the area frantically looking for it. She slinked down the wall staying close against it and began to crawl towards the dining room to get to the kitchen. She passed by the front door and into the dining room. She leaned up against the dining room front exterior wall just below the window. She could see into the kitchen from there and noticed the gun lying on the island in the center of the room. She heard the dragging sound on the porch again. The neighbor had come to the dining room window and bumped up against the glass. She could hear a moaning hissing sound coming from neighbor. Jade slowly reached up to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from making a sound. She held her breath for what seemed like forever. She heard the neighbor begin to walk around outside again, this time sounding like she was leaving the porch. Jade closed her eyes and breathed a quiet sigh of relief but remained still in case she wasn't really gone. After not hearing anything for a few minutes Jade made a quick dash to the kitchen and grabbed the gun off the counter. _

_She went around to each of the windows, carefully approaching them to make sure no one was there and closed all the curtains. She double checked the back door making sure it was locked. Her phone rang, startling her. "Michael?" she asked frantically as she answered the phone, not even looking to see who was calling. She could barely hear the person on the other end and strained to listen. "Michael? I can't hear you? Is that you?" Finally she could make out the whisper "Jade, go to the back door but look outside…carefully…. make sure no one sees you." Jade went back to the door and peered out just slightly pulling back the curtain on the door's window. She looked around and didn't see anyone. _

_"There's no one there, where are you? What happened and Tom and Rachel's What's taking you so long?" She asked._

_ "I can't explain. I had to ditch the truck, I'm on foot. Now listen to me carefully, go ahead and unlock the back door but don't open it. I'm in the wooded area behind the house, as soon as I'm sure it's clear I'm running for the back door…be ready." Michael whispered._

_ Jade heard the click of the call disconnecting. She looked down at the phone and confirmed he had ended the call. She felt herself tremble, reaching for and turning the door knob. She slowly turned the deadbolt of the back door to unlock it as quietly as possible. She pushed back the curtain just far enough to see out. She kept her eyes on the backyard. She squinted her eyes trying to see if she could see Michael in the woods but couldn't. She felt as if she were standing there forever. _

_Suddenly she saw Michael dart out from behind a tree running full speed towards the rear of the house. When he was close, she pulled open the door giving him room to enter and he ran into the house. She closed the door behind him, locking the deadbolt. She turned to look at him. He was out of breath and pacing back and forth. She noticed the front of his shirt appeared to have blood stains. _

_"OH MY GOD MICHAEL, YOU'RE HURT!" She couldn't help but yell at him. He raised his finger to his mouth indicating for her to be quiet. He continued to pace back and forth trying to catch his breath. Jade stood there frozen waiting for him to speak. He pulled his shirt off, turned the water on in the sink and washed his hands and splashed water on his face. He looked to see if there was any blood that had soaked through to his skin but there was none. He looked at Jade, still out of breath with water dripping from his face onto his bare chest. _

"_What's going on? __Whose blood is on your shirt?" Jade asked_

_Michael stopped pacing and just stared at her. His eyes looked stunned and confused. "It's Rachel's". _

_He paused and ran his hands over his face and into his hair. "I killed him Jade….I killed Tom... my own brother…..I killed him... Rachel she...I was too late...he wouldn't stop, he wouldn't….." _

_Michael stumbled backwards against the sink cabinet and slid on his back to the floor. He burst into tears. He put his hand over his mouth in attempt to contain himself but it was no use. He sat with his knees bent and his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands, he wept. Jade dropped down next to him and put her arms around him. He leaned against her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She didn't say a word. She knew if it had been anything like she saw across the street, he had no choice. She was relieved he had come back to her. She just let him weep._


	17. Chapter 17

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 17**

Daryl gently shook Jade awake. Daryl was sitting on the edge of the bed holding plate and glass of water.

"You need to try to eat. I know you probably don't feel like it but you need it to get your strength back"

Jade scooted back on the bed against the head to sit herself up. Daryl inched closer with the glass and plate. He sat the glass on the small table next to the bed and handed her the plate. Jade reluctantly took it from him. Jade looked down and saw it was grits and baked beans.

"I know it's weird having beans at breakfast but you need the protein." Daryl looked down at his hands and started picking at his fingernails.

"You never told me why I'm here…." Jade remarked.

"Merle wants me to try to get you to tell me where the guns are….I suggested being nicer to you to gain your trust. He gave me a week, then it's back to before if not worse." Daryl looked back up to Jade.

"Why would you tell me that? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of _gaining my trust_ if you are telling me you are going to use it against me?…..Take your damn food, I'm not telling you shit." Jade shoved the plate back towards Daryl.

He shook his head and didn't take it from her. "I ain't asking."

Jade just sat there staring at Daryl, he went on picking at his nails. She didn't understand what he was doing. It didn't matter how nice he was to her or how much food he brought her. She would never tell anyone where those guns were. There was nothing that either one of them could do to make her change her mind. They could torture her all they wanted. She had already lost everything that mattered to her. Merle killing her would be doing her a favor. She didn't know what to make of Daryl yet. He seemed to be the polar opposite of Merle. She didn't know if it was an act or not.

"Who's Michael?" Daryl asked.

Jade felt her blood boil. _How the hell did he know about Michael. _Did he and Merle sit around laughing it up with Merle filling him in on everything that happened. Jade threw the plate in the floor and began to kick Daryl. She couldn't hardly raise her leg with the chain attached so she could only kick him with one foot. When that didn't seem to hardly budge him, she lunged towards him with all her might and began hitting him. She felt as if she were punching through water. She had virtually no strength at this point from being in the box so long that she knew she was having little to no real affect on Daryl.

Daryl was stunned at first wondering what the hell she was doing. Once she started hitting him he raised his arm up to block her from making contact. He kept trying to grab her to get her to stop but she kept flailing her arms at him..

"Jade, stop….stop it…..quit….stop hitting….I'm just trying to help you….I said STOP!"

Daryl turned towards her grabbing both of her arms and pinning them above her head as her pushed her onto her back on the bed. She kept trying to kick him so he climbed on top of her over laying his body on top hers. She managed to squirm one leg out from underneath his body and she wrapped her leg around his waist. She attempted to push him off with her foot but she couldn't get him to budge. "GET OFF ME YOU ASS!" Jade yelled at him. Daryl kept yelling at her to stop. He held both wrists above her head with one hand and with the other he reached down her inner thigh to her knee and pinned her knee against the bed to keep her from trying to push him off.

"Well…well…well….." Merle said loudly to get both their attentions. Jade stopped struggling and both her and Daryl looked towards the doorway at Merle. Merle began to laugh.

"Well, I came to see what all the commotion was about but I certainly wasn't expecting this." Merle continued laughing and shook his head.

Daryl looked back at Jade, then he looked at her hands and down to her knee where he had her pinned. Daryl realized he was laying between her legs and that combined with pinning her arms above her head and both of their yelling, he understood what Merle was laughing about. It looked like he was trying to have his way with her.

"Well I'll be damned! Who knew? Well don't let me stop you little brother…." Merle turned to exit the cabin, closing the door. Daryl stared at Jade for a moment, both of them trying to catch their breath. He let go of her wrist and slowly sat up to a kneeling position facing her as she lay on the bed. His face was red from embarrassment. Jade could see that he was. She could tell that was something he couldn't fake. She slowly began to sit up.

"Did I hurt you?" Daryl asked

Jade just shook her head no.

Daryl stepped off the bed and started cleaning the mess she made.

"Damn woman! You really should be eating this! How the hell are you gonna get your strength back to get out of here if you throw your food in the fuckin' floor?" Daryl was pissed. He stuck his neck out for this woman and she was wasting time. Time they didn't have.

"Get out of here?" Jade asked

"Yeah, get out of here….why the hell you think I'm doin' all this? For shits and giggles? To keep you as my new pet? Fuck that, I'm trying to make things right with you. I know Merle has hurt you. What he's done to you and these other people; it ain't right. You can't go around treatin' people like animals. I'm just trying to make it right…."

Daryl stopped trying to clean up and just sat on the floor. Jade could see the discouragement on his face. She just sat on the bed staring at him in silence.

"…..if I'd known you were gonna flip out like that I wouldn't have asked in the first place. You just kept sayin' his name in your sleep is all…." Daryl stood up, kicking the plate out of his way and marched out the door slamming it behind him.

Daryl walked outside not sure where he was going. He just knew he had to get some air. He looked at the larger cabins and thought how he had yet to see inside. He assumed it was where all the workers and Merle's henchmen were staying. He was curious to how it was set up inside. Daryl entered the first cabin and saw that it was set up like a dormitory with rows of bunk beds each had a blanket on each bed. There was a locker room style bathroom off to the side. That was about all there was to it, fairly simple.

Daryl headed over to the other large cabin to look at that one. Upon opening the door, he noticed it was practically identical to the first, he figured one must be for the workers and the other was for Merle's henchmen.

Daryl heard someone behind him. He turned and saw the woman from the kitchen, he didn't know her name but she was the one who gave him the ice for Jade. She just stood still in the doorway leaning against the frame looking down at her feet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just lookin'…do you have any extra clothes? Like a dress or something?" Daryl asked.

The woman quickly walked over to one of the bunks, reaching underneath. She pulled out a folded blue cloth and walked back over to Daryl. She stayed as far away as she could and stretched out her arms to hand it to him. She never made eye contact. Daryl took it from her, thanking her as he left the cabin.


	18. Chapter 18

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 18**

Daryl opened the door to his cabin and walked back in towards Jade. She was still sitting on the bed. She didn't look like she had moved the whole time he was gone. Daryl threw the blue cloth at her and slammed the bowl on the small table next to her. She leaned over to look in it and saw it was more baked beans.

"That should cover you more than that t-shirt will." Daryl was still angry with her. "But if you throw that fuckin' food in the floor I won't bring you anymore." He bent down picked up the plate he had kicked before and scooped up the food off the floor from before. He walked over to the kitchen and threw all of it in the sink. He then went over to the stove and started some coffee. He put a large pot on the stove and filled it with water. He figured if he boiled it then and let it cool, they would have plenty of drinking water for the day. He turned back around and saw that Jade had turned her back to him. She lifted off the t-shirt pulling her hair around the side exposing her back. He saw scars from Merle's handy work. Daryl was real familiar with the cause of scars like that. Once Daryl was old enough to hold his own with Merle, Merle began to introduce Daryl to his belt. He would beat him with it like it was a whip. Daryl could still feel the sting of that belt of his. Jade pulled the blue cloth over her head revealing it was a blue dress. Daryl didn't realize what it even was when it was folded, he just wanted her to have something to wear that would cover her. Not that he minded looking at her but he didn't want her to be uncomfortable. He felt like it was the least he could do.

Jade turned back around and caught Daryl staring at her. He saw her body language change as if she was embarrassed.

"Sorry, I thought I could change before you turned back around" Jade remarked.

Daryl just shrugged and he walked over to the couch and sat down. Not only was he still angry with her but he was angry with himself. He didn't know what the hell he was doing. He began to think Merle would have his way. Whether he got his guns back or not, Daryl started to believe he wouldn't be able to protect her from Merle, no matter how hard he tried.

"…..he was my husband…." Jade spoke.

Daryl looked over at her "What?"

"…..I said…he was my husband. Your brother murdered him….right in front of me." Jade bowed her head and the tears just flowed quietly down her cheeks. She put her hand to her mouth. She didn't want to cry in front of Daryl. She didn't want to cry in front of anyone.

Daryl just stared at her. He didn't know what to say. All he knew was that everything seemed to be getting worse and worse. He wished he could run away from it all and not deal with any of it. He knew that wasn't an option.

Daryl got up and stepped over to the window. He raised up one arm against the frame and rested his head against it as he looked outside. What a mess he had gotten himself into. He had no plan. No plan at all. He couldn't see a way out of all this. It wasn't just Merle he had to deal with. It was everyone else. Merle's henchmen, all the workers, what was he going to do about all of them. Even if he could find a way to escape, how could he justify leaving all these people in Merle's hands. He was in over his head.

Jade laid back on the bed on her side. She watched Daryl as he stared aimlessly out the window. She wondered what he was thinking. She couldn't believe he was so different from Merle. Daryl was right about one thing. She did need to eat. She propped herself up on her elbow. She reached for the bowl from the side table and began to eat. She could only take small bites. Just the thought of eating made her nauseous let alone the actual act of eating. She ate about half of the bowl and had to stop. She laid back down on the bed and closed her eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 19**

_Jade finally made it to a clear stretch of the highway. She had to do some creative driving just to get out of their neighborhood through some back roads and even some of her own roads she made up. She was so glad she opted for the SUV with four wheel drive although she never thought it would come in handy like this. She had no idea where they were going. She was just driving._

_Michael was next to her in the passenger seat. He had his head propped up against his hand, with his elbow against the window. He just sat there staring out into space. He didn't utter a word. Jade had wondered why he came back home on foot and not in the truck. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what happened. All she could think about were the neighbors across the street and the neighbor that came onto the porch. She couldn't believe this was happening. It seemed like something that would only happen in horror movies. They didn't see one other person on the highway but she was a little relieved for it. At least for now._

"_The world is gone Jade…" Michael finally said._

"_It's completely gone….fine one week and a living hell the next. I don't know what to do. Where we should go. There were people from the military just shooting people on the street. There were people killing other people. People were eating…..my brother Tom was….." _

_Michael stopped talking. He couldn't even bring himself to say it. Jade could see Michael starting to tear up but he held them back. _

_Jade pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. She scooted out from behind the wheel and crossed over, straddling Michael's lap. Facing him she cupped the sides of his face in her hands. Michael had one hand on her hip and wrapped the other behind her back and just stared into her eyes._

"_Listen to me Michael. I don't doubt one bit what you saw was horrific. After seeing what happened with the neighbors I can't imagine how it would feel seeing it happen to someone I love. I know you feel guilty about Tom and Rachel but there's nothing you could've done differently. Something is happening here that we have no control over. But I'm alive and you're alive. We have each other. We have to be strong. I love you and right now we are safe. We need to make sure we stay that way."_

_Michael nodded his head yes and just stared at her. He brought his hand from her hip up to her cheek. He brushed the hair away from her face. Pulling her closer he kissed her passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they just held each other close._


	20. Chapter 20

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 20**

Jade placed her plate on the side table once she was finished. She had slept most of the day and Daryl woke her up to eat. Surprisingly she was hungry and able to. Daryl handed her another glass of water and told her to drink it.

Daryl sat on the side of the bed and looked at her. He noticed the color had returned to her face. Although she looked too skinny she was looking the best he had seen her.

"I probably should let you go back to sleep. I know you need your rest." Daryl started to get up when Jade reached over and grabbed his arm.

"Don't go yet…." Jade moved over and patted the bed next to her. "Come here, I figured we could talk a bit."

"I'm not much of a talker" Daryl replied.

"Well how about just doing some listening then?" Jade laid on her side facing Daryl. He moved closer next to her sitting on the bed.

"You know I'm never going to tell anyone where those guns are…don't you?" Jade asked.

"Yeah I know…..I'm not asking you to either." Daryl replied.

"I think you should know what happened with Michael…" Jade went on to tell Daryl about the day Merle and his henchmen came into their camp.

_They only had a small group. Merle and his men came into their camp without warning. It was more like an ambush. Jade figured Merle had been spying on them for days. They had them surrounded almost immediately. At first they thought Merle was just going to rob them. Merle and Walter held them at gunpoint while the others looted their camp for supplies. Once they had all they wanted his henchmen started separating the women from the men and began tying the men up. When Earl tried to grab Jade, Michael fought him and almost had the better of him when someone grabbed him in a headlock and pulled him off Earl. Michael struggled the entire time trying to fight them off and keep them away from Jade. Merle approached Michael and shot him in the leg. Michael started to drop to the ground but pulled himself back up. He tried to go after Merle but Merle shot him again in the shoulder. Earl had grabbed Jade at this point and was trying to drag her away. She fought, kicking and screaming the whole time watching Merle repeatedly shoot her husband as he fell to the ground. Michael made one last attempt to try to get back up. He had gotten back up to his knees when Merle shot him in the head and Michael fell back motionless. Jade, with tears streaming down her face, screamed as she stared at his lifeless body the whole time they were dragging her away until she could no longer see him. _

That was the same day that Merle later forced himself on her. She had fought him with all her might but it was useless. She swore to herself that she would find a way to get even with him. She decided to do what she was told and not say a word. She would patiently wait for a chance to hurt him. He could continue to abuse and assault her as much as he wanted, but one thing he couldn't do was make her his victim.

Daryl lay next to Jade in the bed facing her. There was a small space between them. It had been awhile since Jade had stopped talking but Daryl felt like he needed to be near her. Their hands were next to one another up near their chests resting on the bed. Daryl reached over and touched the top of her hand with his and just held onto it. They stayed like that as they drifted off to sleep until morning.

Merle busted in the cabin yelling for Daryl "BOY GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"

Daryl jumped up to see Merle exit just as fast as he entered. Daryl grabbed his boots shoving them on quickly and started to head for the door. He glanced out the window as he went and saw the commotion outside.

"Oh shit…" Daryl felt a surge of adrenaline rush through his body. He reached down and grabbed his crossbow from the floor with whatever arrows he had. He turned to Jade. She was sitting in the bed at this point just waiting for him to tell her what was happening.

"GET UNDER THE BED…GET UNDER THE BED NOW!" Daryl yelled as he rushed outside.

Jade knew it could only mean one thing…..Walkers…


	21. Chapter 21

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 21**

"GOD DAMN IT! LOOK AT THIS FUCKING MESS!" Merle screamed at Daryl.

"HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO GET ANYTHING DONE AROUND HERE WHEN THESE FUCKERS KEEP COMING AROUND?" Merle kicked one of the dead walkers as he passed by it on the ground.

Daryl, out of breath and sweating, just looked all around him. Daryl walked around with the axe he had removed from Earl's dead hand after he ran out of arrows and plunged it into all the heads of the dead to ensure no one would get back up. Afterwards he dropped the axe on the ground. He began collecting his arrows out of walker heads. He picked up his crossbow of the ground, looking at it to make sure it was ok. Merle had thrown his revolver after he emptied it somewhere and finished the others off with a lead pipe. Walkers had killed everyone in the camp, everyone except him and Merle.

"You and I make quite the team, don't we little brother? These fuckers are no match for us. " Merle laughed.

Daryl didn't say anything, he couldn't believe they had fought off so many and still came out unharmed.

Merle started to shake his head. Anger began to brew inside him. "It didn't have to be like all this….you know that? If I had those damn guns it wouldn't have been like this…..that fucking bitch." Merle took off towards Daryl's cabin. Daryl went charging after him

Merle busted into the cabin hollering and yelling for Jade.

"WHERE ARE YOU HIDING YOU BITCH, I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU FOR ALL THIS. i'M DONE! NO MORE HIDING, NO ONE CAN PROTECT YOU NOW."

Merle grabbed the chain he saw that led under the bed. He yanked it as hard as he could and dragged Jade out from underneath. Jade tried to get away but Merle grabbed hold of her and began punching her.

"GUNS OR NO GUNS WHORE, YOU'RE GONNA DIE!" Merle drew his fist back to punch her again when Daryl grabbed his wrist and jerked him back.

"DON'T MERLE, DON'T DO THIS!" Daryl yelled at him.

The two brothers began to fight. Both landing hard punches on the other full force. They knocked each other on the floor and began to wrestle. Merle grabbed hold of Daryl picking him up and slamming him into the coffee table, breaking it. Even with one hand, Merle still gave Daryl a run for his money in the fighting department. Merle grabbed the back of a chair throwing it at Daryl but missed. Daryl tackled Merle back to the ground and began landing more punches. Both men rolled back and forth on the floor alternating who was on top, throwing fists the whole time. Merle finally managed to get to his feet and before Daryl could he began kicking Daryl in the side. Daryl gasped for air as Merle knocked the wind out of him. Merle paused for a moment to catch his breath. Both were bleeding from wounds sustained by the other. Daryl slowly crawled to his feet.

"Enough Merle…..that's enough, just stop." Daryl pleaded with him.

"There's no stopping now, you've made you bed little brother, now you're going to lie in it…permanently." Merle reached to his side and grabbed a knife out of it's sheath on his belt. It was a large hunting style knife.

Jade was groggy from all the punches she took from Merle and tried to sit up. She managed to sit up against the bed. She saw Merle and Daryl in a stand off, Merle holding a large knife towards Daryl.

Merle lunged at Daryl swinging the knife making contact with his arm, slicing across his bicep. Daryl cringed in pain but pushed Merle's hand with the knife away from his body. The two men wrestled to the floor again, Merle still holding onto the knife. They continued fighting when Merle rolled over on top of Daryl and Daryl yelled out. Both men froze in their positions. Daryl was gasping for air, moving his legs as if trying to get out from underneath Merle but yet was hardly moving. Merle rolled off of Daryl, leaving him laying on the floor on his back. Daryl writhed around in pain on the floor. Merle stood to his feet and then stumbled back sitting back on the floor with his back towards Jade.

"DARYL NO!" Jade screamed and covered her mouth as she saw the blood on the chest of Daryl's shirt. Panic rushed through her body.

Merle fell backwards laying on the ground. It was then that Jade was able to see the knife stuck in Merle's chest. Daryl slowly began to sit up. Daryl still having trouble breathing, crawled over to where Merle was laying.

"Merle….MERLE!" Daryl rested his hand on Merle's chest near the knife. "Just hold still…" Daryl told him.

Merle reached up with his hand towards Daryl's face. He lightly slapped him on the cheek, smearing his blood on Daryl's face.

"Now don't go being a weepy pussy on me boy! Don't start that shit with me" Merle began wheezing and coughing up blood. Daryl put his hands on Merle's shoulders, trying to hold him still. Daryl just stared into Merle's eyes. Jade could see the tears starting to well up in Daryl's.

"You never had it did you?...you never did…I tried to see it in you but...…it was never there….." Merle wheezed again.

"Never had what?" Daryl asked fighting back the tears.

"…..the darkness…..the darkness that I have, you never had it. Even as a small boy…you always tried to be good." Merle gasped for air, coughing up more blood. Daryl could hear a gurgling in his throat.

"…..I ain't sorry for nothing….I don't need no forgiveness not even yours…..I would've let it be you lying here…."

"I know Merle…..I know….." Daryl said nodding his head.

"…..you were always good Daryl…." Merle whispered as he coughed up blood and gasped for air.

Jade was watching the slow rise and fall of Merle's chest until it just stopped and everything became quiet and still. Daryl stayed kneeling beside Merle for at least a half an hour just staring at him. Jade sat still and quiet on the bed just watching Daryl. Finally Daryl reached to touch Merle's face, closing his eyes with his finger tips. Daryl stood up and walked around to Merle's head and reached up underneath his arms, lifting him up. He struggled as he did but he drug Merle's body outside the cabin. Jade didn't see Daryl for a few hours afterwards.

Jade stayed in the same spot on the bed almost if frozen. She always dreamed of the day she would watch Merle die. She imagined a variety of ways it would be. She believed it would always make her feel better, a sense of right in the world. Now that Jade was faced with the realty of it, and even though Merle certainly earned it, she didn't feel the least bit better. In fact, she was sad. The sorrow she was feeling wasn't for Merle though, it was for Daryl.

Daryl walked back into the cabin. He was carrying a shovel and was covered in dirt. He dropped the shovel on the floor and walked over to the bed where Jade was sitting. He didn't say a word. He looked like he was in a daze. He grabbed the chain and pulled her leg out towards him and reached into his pocket pulling out a key. He unlocked the shackle from around Jade's ankle. He dropped the shackle and key on the floor and walked in to the bathroom closing the door.

Jade listened as he turned on the water to the shower. She sat there for awhile, wiping the tear stains from her face. Slowly she got up and walked over to the closet. She pulled out the spare shirt, pants and boxers from the closet and walked over to the bathroom door. She turned the knob and opened the door. She could see Daryl's pile of blood and dirt stained clothes on the floor. She stepped closer to the tub and saw Daryl just sitting in the tub as the water washed over him, with his knees to his chest. His arms were folded over them and he was resting his head on his arms. She didn't say a word to him she just set his clothes by the towel that was in the bathroom and returned to the bed. She lay on her side facing the wall and curled up in the fetal position, closing her eyes.

Jade wasn't sure how much time had passed since she had fallen asleep but she woke up when she felt Daryl lay on the bed next to her. She turned to look at him, he had only put on the boxers she left in the bathroom. He was lying on his left side, his bare back was to her. She noticed it was full of marks and scars. She moved closer to him and pressed against his back, sliding her arm underneath his and her rested her hand on his chest. She rested her chin on his shoulder near his neck. He reached with his right hand to her hand that was across him and interlocked his fingers between hers. Neither one of them said a word. Jade listened to him breath until they fell asleep.


	22. Chapter 22

**The Ties That Bind**

**Chapter 22**

Daryl woke up with a feeling of disbelief. His mind was having a hard time processing what had happened the day before. He could see the blood stain on the floor Merle had left behind. He rolled over onto his back and noticed he was in the bed alone. He sat up and looked around the room and didn't see Jade. He had a throbbing headache and decided to lay back down. He turned over on his opposite side. He heard someone enter the cabin. He turned to make sure it wasn't a walker and saw Jade. She was carrying a glass and a bowl.

She came over and sat on the edge of the bed, resting the bowl and glass on the side table next to it.

"You need to eat and you need some water." She got up and walked over to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.

Daryl sat up and just stared at the bowl. He didn't feel like eating but he knew he had to. He would have a long day ahead of him. He sat up and began to eat.

Daryl paused for a moment and looked up at Jade. "You can do what you want, but I can't stay here." Daryl said to her. She turned around from the kitchen to look at him.

"I know…I can't either." Jade replied.

Daryl stood up and walked over to the kitchen and stood before Jade. She took a step closer to him wrapping her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. She squeezed him tight. Daryl reluctantly put his arms around her and rested his cheek on top of her head. He didn't know the last time someone actually hugged him. Jade pulled away from him a few minutes later.

"Come on, get dressed, let's pack up." Jade headed toward the recreation hall for supplies.

Both Daryl and Jade had packed a backpack each and headed west. They spent most of the day walking. Jade hadn't walked that far in months and it was starting to take it's toll. They came across a creek bed and both stopped for water. Jade knelt down and put her hands in the water splashing it on her face. She heard a noise in the bushes.

"Get up Jade, get up." Daryl commanded. Jade stood and Daryl pushed her behind him. Two men with shotguns had stepped out aiming them at both of them.

"Drop the crossbow" one man said.

"We're just passing through, let us be" Daryl replied.

A third man with a shotgun stepped out of the woods.

"I think you need to do what you are told" he informed them.

The men took Daryl's crossbow and marched them away from the creek.

Jade thought they had to have walked at least ten miles. Her legs were beginning to burn and she was feeling nauseated.

"You doing alright?" Daryl asked her. She just nodded her head yes. Daryl reached down and took her hand to help her along.

"How much further are we going? If you're gonna kill us, just do it, or are you planning on walking us to death?" Daryl hollered out to the men.

"It's not much further" they replied.

Jade could see there was a clearing ahead, once they entered the clearing, they were at the top of a hill. At the bottom of the hill was a farm.

"Is that where we are going?" Jade asked

"That's it." one of the men replied. The sun was just beginning to set.

It was dark by the time they got to the front porch. An older man with a long gray beard, black trousers and a blue flannel shirt greeted them.

"Well what do we have here?" The old man asked.

"We found this pair down by Mill's Creek." one of the men replied. "They were only armed with this crossbow. We searched their belongings, mainly food supplies, a few medical and that's about it."

The older man looked them both up and down. "Well by the looks of you two, I'd say you've had a bad week at the least. Son, that arm of yours is bleeding again, you could probably use some stitches and get it properly wrapped instead of what you have going on there. My wife Betty used to be a doctor in her past life so she'll get you straight. I assume you are both hungry, especially considering how scrawny she is." The old man pointed towards Jade.

"I'm only going to tell you this once, we are a peaceful group here but we all know how to use a gun. If you lie, cheat, steal, rape or kill, then be prepared to have justice served to you here if you try anything. All we ask is that you are respectful and if you choose to stay you earn you keep with work around the farm. If you choose to leave, rest here a few days and we'll give you what we can for you to be on your way. The choice is yours. But for tonight, you are both our guests and we welcome you. Now all we need are your names."

Daryl and Jade looked at one another surprised. "Well I'm Jade and this is Daryl." They weren't sure what to think but both were too tired to doubt what the man was saying was true. They both went inside.

Daryl sat down at the dinner table next to Jade. His arm had been fixed up by the old man's wife and he was given some antibiotics.

Both of them were starving. They had beef stew for dinner. Jade thought it was the best beef stew she ever had. During dinner the old man informed them his name was John and he introduced the men that found Daryl and Jade as his sons. They introduced all the other people that were there to eat. Some lived at the house and some were from neighboring houses.

"Well I hope you two got enough to eat, Betty's fixed up a guest room for you so you have a good night's rest. You both look exhausted." John stood up and started to clear the table.

"No please, let me do that." Jade took the plate from him. Daryl started to get up but Jade put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head no and smiled at him. She headed towards the kitchen.

Daryl sat at the table with John not knowing what he should say. He was distracted by something out of the corner of his eye. Around the corner came a man, walking with the crutch. His leg was bandaged as well as his arm in a sling and a bandage on his head. He hobbled into the room standing near the end of the table.

"Daryl, let me introduce you to our here miracle man. That's what I keep calling him and he hates it" John laughed "When we found him he was riddled full of bullet holes including one to the head which was thankfully a graze. Betty worked hard on this boy! Didn't think he was going to make it but he gets stronger and stronger by the day. Now he is insisting on coming to the dinner table. He's bound and determined."

Jade walked back into the dining room and removed another plate from the table. She looked up and saw the man standing at the end of the table leaning on a crutch. She dropped the plate, shattering it on the floor. Jade put her hand over her mouth and a tear streamed down her cheek.

"Well darling, there's no need to get upset, it's just a plate, it's fine" John told her.

All Jade could do was shake her head no but she never took her eyes off the man. She stumbled back slightly and braced herself against the wall. Daryl started to get up and go to her but something made him look back at the man first.

"Jade?…Is that really you?" the man asked

Jade couldn't muster a sound out of her mouth but tears were steadily streaming down her face. She slowly started to walk towards him. The man hobbled as best he could towards her. John stood up to let him pass.

"Well my dear God" John remarked "I didn't even make the connection with her name, well don't I feel foolish."

Daryl watched Jade move closer to the man. Once she was close enough to touch him she reached out but hesitated seeming afraid to. Daryl noticed the man had tears welling up in his eyes.

"I won't break Jade, I won't….baby I can't believe my own eyes! I can't believe you're here…after all this time." The man dropped his crutch reaching out to her. Jade moved in quickly to support under his arm to keep him from losing balance. She gently wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. He wrapped his good arm around her, tilting his head against hers. Daryl heard the saddest cry he had ever heard come out of anyone, coming from Jade. The sound made everyone around them start to cry too. Even Daryl found himself tearing up but fought back the tears. John walked over to Daryl putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Come on everybody, this ain't no show, let's give Jade and Michael some privacy."

The next morning Daryl was getting his things together.

"Are you sure we can't convince you to stay?" John asked.

"Thanks but I'm sure." Daryl replied

"Well you are always welcome here if you change your mind." John told him patting him on the back and he left Daryl to himself. Daryl stepped out on the porch and headed down the stairs. Once he got to the ground her heard someone call out to him. He turned around to see who it was.

"You planning on leaving without saying goodbye?" Jade asked.

Daryl could see her eyes were red and swollen. She didn't look as if she got any sleep. "I didn't want to bother you." Daryl replied.

Jade walked down the porch and walked right up to Daryl "You could never be a bother. I'd hate for you to leave without at least giving me a chance to say goodbye and to thank you. You know you could stay here. You don't need to leave."

"I know…..it's nice here…..I think you will be happy." Daryl told her as he looked into her eyes. He studied her face, he would miss seeing her.

"But where will you be happy?" Jade asked.

"I don't know…..I figure maybe I'll try to catch back up with my old camp, I know where they were headed when we got separated. It hasn't been that long, I think I can catch them."

Daryl and Jade were distracted by a truck pulling up along next to them. One of John's son's got out and tossed the keys to Daryl.

"Dad said for you to take it."

"But I won't be able to bring it back….." Daryl told him

"That's why he told me to give it to you and not loan it to you. It's got a full tank of gas" The son patted Daryl on the back as he went inside the house.

Daryl looked down at the keys in his hand then he and Jade looked at the truck. "Well I guess you're all set Daryl."

Daryl tossed his bag and crossbow inside the truck and turned back to Jade.

Before he could say anything else she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Daryl wrapping his arms around her buried his face in her neck. He fought back tears.

"I won't ever forget you Daryl and I can never thank you enough. I owe you my life. I'm going to worry about you. I want you to come back if you don't find them, you hear me?" Jade did her best to hold back her own tears but not very successfully, not letting go of Daryl as she spoke. With his face still buried Daryl nodded his head yes.

She pulled back slightly from him and cupped his face in her hands. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He pulled her in tighter kissing her back. They both pulled back and pressed their foreheads against each others, both with their eyes closed.

"Are you going to be alright?" Jade whispered to him.

Daryl pulled away from her so he could look into her eyes, still holding on to her "Yeah…yeah I am."

Daryl turned away from her quickly and hopped in the truck. He sat there for a moment in the cab of the truck looking down at his lap. He put the key in and turned the ignition. He looked back at her one last time. His eyes filled with tears he gave her a half smile and drove away.

Jade stood there until she could see him no longer.

********Author's note: Well this is technically my second story but the first one I've finished. Thank you for taking the time to read this! It means a lot to me that you've taken the time and special thanks to all those that also gave me your feedback. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF WHAT HAPPENED WITH MERLE AND THE ENDING!I'm dying to know! I hope you will read my other stories (Safe Haven and there will be more to come)and enjoy them as well**. **~Wasp**


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